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My dear friend/editor has open calls for three anthologies (one erotica, two non-erotica). She’s such a great editor to work with. Jessica can help you take your work to the next level because she’s willing to work with you to build a stronger story rather than overwrite your voice.

Here are her open calls…

Sometimes communication is not as straightforward as we might expect. From body language to Morse code, conveying messages comes in a wide variety of forms. How do we get our message across? Whether you’re talking with other species on this planet or another, we’re looking for your loquacious conversations! (not erotica–DN)

Loose your imagination’s libido in this very spec-fic collection of erotica tales. We want plot-focused stories with enrapturing storytelling where the erotica and romance enhance the story rather than being the main goal. Your level of explicitness may vary—the important part is the tale itself. We can’t wait to read your stories!

Some of the best speculative fiction stories today have derived from the tumultuous political times of the past from authors seeking to highlight injustice or simply work through their own frustration. We are indeed living in interesting times, locally and globally (and intergalactically?). Whether the subject is government or espionage or even something only tangentially related, we would love to read your stories!

Once upon a time,a long time ago in a kingdom far away from California, a young woman wrote a story about Snow White for literotica.

I started with two premises in mind—what if beauty was a curse, and what if the Evil Queen wasn’t evil? The result was a short story called “For Love of Snow White.” I wrote it in 2002 and barely thought of it for over a decade. But I saw a call for submissions that would fit the story, so I pulled it out of my archive, polished it up and sent it in. My editor asked me to expand it–which I did by about 10k words. The resulting story is still called “For Love of Snow White,” and while it is not erotica, it is a dark feminist take on the Snow White story.

Here’s a snippet

The carriage ride to the convent was long, and my book held little interest for me. Idly, I took my mirror from the pocket of my gown.

“Mirror, Mirror in my hand, who’s the fairest in the land?”

I received the answer I’d dreaded for five years. I was told “You, my queen, are lovely as a pearl, but your beauty cannot compare to the girl’s.”

The new god’s curse had struck in full.

“Mama!” Snow greeted me with a warm embrace.

“Snow! Let me look at how you’ve grown!”

No longer garbed like a novitiate, Snow White was breathtaking. She had hair as black as midnight cascading to her waist. Her skin was pale as the snow she was named for. Snow White’s eyes glowed bluer than any sapphire. Her lips formed a perfect red bow. She was dressed in a blue gown that accented her womanly curves and she moved with a grace that even I envied. Her voice was soft, yet carried a note of seduction that she seemed unaware of. She had reached her majority and her powers, although untrained, were at their full strength.

The king and priests had spoken—she was to leave, no matter what the head of the nun’s order thought of it. I took her home, too distracted by the mirror’s revelation and worried by Snow’s beauty to take advantage of the two hours alone in the carriage. She was silent, looking out a window rather than wanting to talk. Perhaps she was thinking of Charmaine. I should’ve taken her to the stone dance right away, bespelled the driver, anything. But how could I know what was to come?

You can read my almost novella in Myths, Monsters, Mutations edited by Jessica Augustsson, forthcoming from Jayhenge in 2017

Due to high demand, we are putting together a steampunk-themed anthology. We’re looking for more than just the goggles-and-gears accoutrements of what we think of as steampunk. The era of the steam engine affected much more than Victorian England, so let yourself be inspired by everything the new and amazing inventions might have touched, from the stratified class systems to the various places colonized, and then allow your imaginations to soar into worlds beyond our own.

Unearthly Sleuths

Crime solving becomes extraordinary when the rules of Planet Earth as we know it don’t apply. If your detective is seeking out clues in distant galaxies or preternatural realms, send us your stories!

Myths, Monsters, Mutations

Who lurks in the dark? What’s that sound? We’re looking for your accounts of dark myths, horror and the macabre to delight and frighten!

None of these anthologies is erotica, but Jessica tells me an erotica anthology is on the horizon. I can tell you from first-hand experience that Jessica is a fantastic editor to work with. I strongly encourage you to consider submitting to her.

My very dear friend and editor, Jessica, has extended her call for submissions for her next anthology, Intrepid Horizons, through March 25.

Intrepid Horizons — Third in the anthology series following up on Other Days and Encounters, Intrepid Horizons seeks out bravery on the horizons of this universe or the next. Do you have tales of courage to share?

We’re looking for stories of many lengths, from flash to novella. If you have something you think fits the bill, please send it along! Payment will be $3 per 1000 words. Deadline TBD.

This is not an erotica collection.

Jess is a really great editor, and so supportive of her writers. Whether you write classic sci-fi/fantasy or something new–this is the anthology with my story about a Unicorn’s Virgin getting dumped, after all–Jessica wants to hear from you. JayHenge is still a new press, so while the pay is lower than other places, you retain the rights and can do with as you wish.